A History of the United StatesAdams, Charles Kendall
History
A History of the United States
Adams, Charles Kendall
United States -- History
[191] Born in Vermont, 1813; died, 1861. After suffering many hardships
in his youth, removed to Illinois, and began to practice law in 1834;
was attorney-general of the state, 1838; secretary of state for
Illinois, 1840; judge of the Supreme Court, 1841; was in the United
States House of Representatives, 1843–1847; in United States Senate,
1847–1861; was the advocate of “Popular Sovereignty” in the territories,
and gained the appellation of “Little Giant” by the fervor and power of
his advocacy; held joint debates with Lincoln in 1858; was an
unsuccessful candidate for a Presidential nomination in 1852 and 1856,
and for the Presidency in 1860.
[192] Born in Kentucky, February 12, 1809; died in Washington, April 15,
1865. Moved to Indiana with his parents in 1816; to Illinois in 1830;
served as private and captain in Black Hawk War in 1832; failed as a
storekeeper in New Salem, Illinois; studied law and was sent to the
legislature, 1834–1842; was Whig congressman from Springfield district,
1847–1849; came forward as a debater and political speaker between 1850
and 1858; made himself known to the entire nation by his debates with
Douglas in 1858, by his Cooper Institute speech of February, 1860, and
by other speeches; was nominated by Republicans and elected President,
1860; issued Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863; reëlected
President, 1864; shot by John Wilkes Booth, April 14, 1865.
[193] Born in Connecticut, 1800; died, 1859. Early moved to Ohio and
became an earnest and uncompromising abolitionist; went to Kansas in
1855 and took an active part in the troubles that ensued; led in the
“Pottawatomie Massacre” of 1856; returned to the East and matured plans
for an invasion of the South in 1859; made the attack on Harper’s Ferry,
October 16; executed, December 2, 1859.
[194] Born in New Hampshire, 1808; died, 1873. Graduated at Dartmouth,
1826; moved to Cincinnati and practiced law; became a great supporter
and advocate of the anti-slavery movement; was elected by Democrats and
Free Soilers to the United States Senate, 1849; governor of Ohio,
1856–1860; was candidate for nomination for the Presidency, 1860; became
Secretary of the Treasury and performed services of great merit,
1861–1864; was not in perfect accord with Lincoln’s administration, and
his name was urged by his friends for the Presidency in 1864; was
appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1864, and served till
his death.
[195] General Dix is still remembered for his famous order to his
subordinates: “If any man attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot
him on the spot.” With the spirit of this order, General Winfield Scott,
who, old as he was, had been laboring for months to get Buchanan into an
attitude of aggressive resistance, heartily concurred.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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